Chapter 327: Years (Bonus Chapter—Requesting Monthly Votes)

Half an hour later.

StarSea Corporation, mecha manufacturing plant.

"What? A spy infiltrated?"

Fang Xing had just finished dealing with the flesh offspring and returned to hear a message that made him frown.

"Yes."

Wei Wei Jiali adjusted her glasses: "Fortunately, we detected it in time, and Miss Nangong came to our aid… the spy caused no damage."

"Where is he?"

Fang Xing looked at Nangong Xue.

"She killed herself."

Nangong Xue frowned: "Should our Nine Sword Academy security department intervene in the investigation?"

"Thank you, but not necessary for now."

Fang Xing waved his hand.

He had a gut feeling that this demon offspring incident and the spy infiltration were too coincidental.

'If it were only a new type of suppressant, the backing of the Martial Saint and the two top-tier academies would be enough to protect it…'

'But adding unknown extraterrestrial demon materials makes it suspicious, doesn't it?'

'No, given the current lab's secrecy level, they should only be suspicious, right?'

'Then let them come—we'll meet them with force, water with earth…'

…

Meanwhile.

Evil Dragon Star, wormhole.

A spaceship shaped like a black dragon slowly emerged from the wormhole.

Inside the vessel, in a grand hall.

A martial artist with sparse hair and a face like an old man sat cross-legged.

He had a large head, a thin frame, looked extremely aged, yet his eyes were bright.

Martial energy gathered around him, causing the void to subtly ripple.

"Wu Yong, Martial Saint, you will serve as inspector and travel to the White Bird Star in the Evil Dragon System to verify materials and battle merits."

The mechanical voice of the "Omniscient Brain" echoed.

Every time a demon offspring-level attack occurs, it doesn't end with just killing it and dividing the flesh.

In truth, the official procedure requires reporting first, then the Federation confirming the victory, followed by evaluation and reward allocation.

Power to grant favors and impose punishment must rest in the hands of the Federation's ruling officials—that's how political stability is maintained.

If subordinates simply divide the spoils among themselves, it clearly indicates a flaw in the ruling foundation.

Of course, special cases warrant special treatment.

When the one who earned the merit is a Martial Saint, ordinary Federation bureaucrats dare not speak up.

At such times, a new balancing force must step in.

Considering that Zhou Zhou Yehua, the Martial Saint, must remain stationed on Evil Dragon Star, this mission was assigned to Wu Yong, the Martial Saint.

"Fang Xing, breaking through to Martial Saint at fifty? Truly a genius…"

Wu Yong looked at Fang Xing's resume, his expression unreadable: "During university, you killed your instructor, Wei Wei Shentong? … Little Saint was a rising star in our faction; though he remained stuck before the Martial Saint threshold, his Great Vajra physique meant he'd become a Strong Martial Saint the moment he broke through. Now he's dead—he's nothing."

With Federation technology, cloning another Wei Wei Shentong would be easy.

But whether he could re-attain the Great Vajra realm again? That's uncertain.

Moreover, it would require massive resource investment—terrible cost-to-benefit ratio.

And cloning isn't resurrection.

Thus, even high-level experts, once dead, are truly dead.

"For me to review this case is strange… our faction didn't push for it, so is another faction trying to stir up trouble?"

A flash of sharpness passed through Wu Yong's seemingly clouded eyes.

Having reached Martial Saint, he was no fool; though this mission was supposedly randomly assigned by the "Omniscient Brain," who believed that?

"You want me to test the weight of this newly promoted Martial Saint? How… interesting."

Wu Yong's knuckles cracked with anticipation.

…

"The Federation inspector is coming?"

On White Bird Star, Fang Xing also learned of this news through various channels.

"It doesn't seem to be about the flesh offspring."

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

But this was routine probing—no need for an overly aggressive response.

"It seems your factory has drawn a lot of attention."

Nangong Xue removed her glasses beside him: "How about we eliminate him?"

"What are you talking about? He's a Martial Saint."

Fang Xing glared at Nangong Xue.

The sword sages of Nine Sword Academy all had something wrong with their heads.

"How boring…"

Nangong Xue yawned, put her glasses back on, instantly transforming into a plain schoolgirl, her charm sealed away.

…

Several hours later.

Star River Island.

A black dragon-shaped ship slowly docked.

The ship's hatch opened automatically, and a figure stepped out—it was Wu Yong!

"Wu Martial Saint, welcome!"

Fang Xing smiled warmly and stepped forward to greet him.

"Fang Martial Saint!"

Wu Yong also smiled slightly and extended his hand.

As their hands clasped, the air seemed to tremble!

'A show of force?'

Feeling the powerful force in his palm, Fang Xing smiled faintly and activated the Fire Mystery.

Crack!

A sharp sound of bone breaking echoed.

Wu Yong's expression changed; he subtly withdrew his hand, his heart surging with shock: 'How old is he… how can he surpass me?'

Through this handshake, Wu Yong knew he was no match for Fang Xing.

In ancient martial arts, a handshake could determine superiority.

That single grip told him: if it were a life-or-death battle, he might be crushed to death by Fang Xing.

Thinking of his own age versus Fang Xing's, he felt his entire life had been wasted.

"Wu Martial Saint, please… I've prepared a banquet."

Fang Xing smiled broadly, as if he hadn't just struck a blow.

"Hmm."

Wu Yong nodded.

For a Martial Saint, a broken bone was nothing—he'd already nearly recovered. After weighing the situation, he decided against pushing further.

'If Fang Xing were weak, I might have demanded a factory inspection… but now? Better to handle this officially.'

The Federation's upper echelons operated like spring rain—full of unspoken rules.

Just like this mission: not a word mentioned the mecha factory.

If Wu Yong could overpower Fang Xing, he could conduct a deeper investigation.

But if he couldn't, he'd simply settle the flesh offspring's battle merits and leave.

Of course, Wu Yong could still use his official status to forcibly search.

But then he'd have to bear the consequences himself!

…

In the reception hall.

Fang Xing personally accompanied him; Dai Wei and others were present.

"In this flesh offspring incident, everyone's response was commendable… the greatest contribution, naturally, came from Fang Martial Saint."

After the banquet, Wu Yong inspected the demon offspring's corpse and began formally evaluating merits.

"How does Fang Martial Saint intend to handle this flesh offspring? According to the AI's calculation, you're entitled to 89.6% of its merits. The Federation encourages Martial Saints to surrender all spoils—doing so increases your awarded merits by thirty percent… if Fang Martial Saint needs items like 'Spirit Refining Essence,' you may reserve a batch in advance…"

Hearing this, Nangong Xue, acting as secretary, perked up instantly, gazing at Fang Xing with longing eyes.

Spirit Refining Essence required a demon offspring as raw material and had extremely low yield.

The Federation had too many Vajra-level martial artists—even with her Nine Sword Academy background, she had to wait in line.

But now, here's a legitimate chance to cut in line!

"I need to keep half the flesh-subject material to forge my personal mech."

Fang Xing thought for a moment, then spoke directly: "Would the remaining share be enough to exchange for one 'Spirit Refining Elixir'?"

"One flesh-subject usually yields only two or three Spirit Refining Elixirs. This one isn't very strong—it might produce only one or two at most…"

Wu Yong shook his head.

Top-tier resources are desired by everyone.

Even Martial Saints and Martial Gods have disciples, juniors, relatives, and friends who need care…

"According to the AI's calculation, your submitted share isn't enough to exchange for one Spirit Refining Elixir—but… you can lock in priority!"

He smiled slightly: "If this is for Lady Nangong, your connection to the Nine Swords Academy is enough to raise your priority to within the top three. You'll definitely be next."

"Agreed."

After checking with Nangong Xue, Fang Xing accepted immediately.

He was simply doing a favor—after all, once he gave Nangong Xue the reservation right, she'd surely repay him with contribution points, perhaps even more…

After Fang Xing finished, it was Davis and the others' turn—they didn't even get a share of the flesh-subject, only promotions and raises. The Federation's top-tier resources were never open to the public; Fang Xing had forced his way through these layers of restrictions solely by his unmatched talent and astonishing cultivation speed.

'This Wu Yong seems quite astute…'

Looking at the ever-charming Grand Martial Saint Wu, Fang Xing thought inwardly: 'Or perhaps… when you're strong enough, you find everyone around you is kind?'

…

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

After Wu Yong left, Nangong Xue departed as well.

She had finally obtained the breakthrough opportunity that countless Golden Core martial artists desperately sought—she was preparing to return to the Nine Swords Academy for seclusion, aiming to surge toward the Martial Saint realm!

One might say she was spurred on by Fang Xing's own breakthrough.

As a prodigy of the Nine Swords Academy, she was a woman brimming with pride.

Inside the factory.

Fang Xing glanced at his personal mech and found its outline already taking shape.

Black armor plates were being installed one by one, resembling a monstrous giant.

"Boss, your personal mech's construction has surpassed 50%!"

Dr. Wang beamed, then lowered his voice: "The materials are blending exceptionally well—work difficulty has dropped significantly…"

Though publicly claimed to be built primarily from flesh-subject material, Fang Xing's mech used none of that weak specimen's components.

The main body remained the Pale Subject, while critical parts used the Pale Matriarch—ideal for future upgrades. These two materials blended perfectly, yielding unexpected benefits.

Had he not been unable to withstand the strain without becoming a Martial God, he'd have considered crafting his personal mech entirely from extraterrestrial deities!

"It'll be completed in ten years, for sure."

Dr. Wang promised with a beaming face.

"Ten years… isn't long…"

Fang Xing sighed deeply.

His cultivation avatar was still training hard on Master Mingkun Island, not yet reaching the peak of Nascent Soul early stage.

As for his main body?

It had made tremendous progress.

Fang Xing focused his awareness on his attribute panel:

【Name: Fang Xing】

【Age: 55】

【Profession: Immortal Martial Practitioner】

【Eighth Realm: Martial Saint】

【Martial Will Inscription: 199/200 (Mastery)】

【Star Martial Nine Extremes: 1125/2000 (Grand Master)】

【Great Sun Tathagata Mantra: 366/400 (Grand Master)】

【Heavenly Mother's Glory Golden Lotus Twin Guardian Scripture: 1/400 (Grand Master)】

【Great Sun Tathagata Divine Palm: 7/200 (Mastery)】

【Fire Profound Principle: 17/100 (Proficient)】

【Gate of All Realms: 99/100】

…

"I'm already fifty-five this year. Ten years from now I'll be sixty-five—still young. I can still contribute to the Blue Star Federation…"

Still a doctoral student, destined to stay on campus after graduation and completely dodge military service, Fang Xing thought shamelessly.

"Over these past few years, besides advancing the Great Sun Tathagata Divine Palm and Fire Profound Principle each by one level, the most important achievement has been perfecting the 'Star Martial Nine Extremes'!"

The "Star Martial Nine Extremes" was Fang Xing's own synthesis—built upon his former Star Martial Seven Extremes, and infused with the perfected Grand Master arts of Dragon-Tiger Stance and Dragon-Elephant Golden Immortal Body Technique, tailored perfectly to his own path.

Nine is the ultimate number. Thus, no matter how many more martial essences he integrates later, it will always remain the Star Martial Nine Extremes!

Only if some earth-shattering change occurred might he rename it something like "Ten Extremes Martial Path"…

"Finally, the Gate of All Realms is nearly complete again. I can return to the Great Xia universe at least one more time…"

Fang Xing's heart stirred with excitement.

The "Proficient" rank of Fire Profound Principle had brought him immense benefits, amplifying his power in every aspect.

This is only because I don't have a transmitted secret scripture—I had to cultivate it on my own, so my progress was painfully slow... Had I been in the Yuanzhong Divine Palace, I might already be at Grand Master level.

The "Proficient" rank of Fire Profound Principle also brought a greater reward: Fang Xing sensed his affinity for fire was extraordinarily high.

Moreover, through constant contemplation of the Profound Principle, he had glimpsed the path beyond the Martial Saint realm.

"Cultivating as a Martial Saint is simple: just grind the Great Sun Tathagata Divine Palm. Once you reach Grand Master—or even Grand Master level—you'll inevitably manifest the Great Sun Tathagata Body and become a Martial God!"

"Of course, to elevate my Great Sun Tathagata Divine Palm to Grand Master, I must first raise the Great Sun Tathagata Mantra to Grand Master level—but that's not far off…"

"The Great Sun Tathagata Mantra reaching Grand Master brought divine solar essence… but what changes come with Grand Master? Will I directly manifest a 'Solar Divine Core' and become a deity?"

"No—do true extraterrestrial deities even have a 'Divine Core'? It seems they only possess so-called 'Authority'…"

Authority is the concentrated essence of a specific rule.

As Fang Xing deepened his understanding of Fire Profound Principle, he now glimpsed the path toward forging his own Authority.

"The Immortal Martial Path is just one road—it's not safe enough!"

"Even with all the resources of the Blue Star Federation, they've yet to confirm the path beyond Martial God. I can't afford to be careless…"

"Beyond the Immortal Martial Path, I must secure a backup—like obtaining the Great Xia universe's advancement system!"

Fang Xing's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Stuck on writing—update postponed until tomorrow morning

(End of Chapter)